Apple says it sold $10bn (£6.1bn) of apps last year, including $1bn (£610m) in December alone.The festive sales translate to more than three billion app purchases in one month – a new record for the App Store – and includes downloads to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. 
Developers have now made a total of $15bn (£9.1bn) by producing apps, the California-based company said.
Apple takes a 30% cut from every sale, so has made $4.5bn for its own coffers.
Candy Crush Saga, the hit from UK developer King, was one of 2013’s biggest hits, along with the likes of Puzzles & Dragons and Minecraft.
This time last year, Apple did not give a 2012 sales total, but said more than 775,000 apps had been created. That figure has now topped a million.
However, most apps are thought to receive very few downloads, with the bulk coming from a relatively small group of big sellers.
Google’s Play Store – which sells apps for Android phones and tablets – has not yet released figures for 2013.
But a Forbes report last year suggested it had already surpassed Apple on quarterly downloads.
